Rail-plate and wheel-guard.



G. H. LANGTON.

RAIL PLATE AND WHEEL GUARD. APPLICIATION FILED 11110 29, 1910.

994,592, Patented June a, 1911.

. h 7 l4 I 4 H 975% l A W INVENTOR George H. Longron ATTORNEYS nu; NORRIS PEYERS c111, wAsHlNm'ahL o, c.

RAIL-PLATE AND WHEEL-GUARD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application fi1ed December 29, 1910.

Patented June 6, 1911.

Serial No. 599,806.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. LANGTON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Shreveport, in the parish of Caddo and State of Louisiana, have invented a new and Improved Rail-Plate and VVheel-Guard, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description;

The invention relates to rails for railways and has for an object to provide a guard, for switch points, to guide the wheels of a train safely over the switch point and prevent a derailment.

For the purpose mentioned use is made of a base plate for attachment to a railway tie and adapted to receive a rail thereon, a rail plate on the base plate and extending upwardly and inwardly to engage the rail and a wheel guard formed on the base plate and extending toward the rail plate, the said wheel guard being spaced from the said rail.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, constituting a part of the specification, in which similar characters of reference denote corresponding parts in all the views, and in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of a switch with my device applied thereto at the switch point end of the switch; and Fig. 2 is a sec tional view taken on theline 2-2 in Fig. 1.

It ofttimes happens that a train is derailed due to the wheels of the train striking a switch point and being raised upwardly to climb over the switch. To overcome this I have produced a means whereby the flanges of the wheels are substantially held free from the switch point as the train passes over the switch and I have further provided in combination with the said means, a rail plate for engagement with a rail to lessen the wear and tear of the rail at a switch point.

Referring more particularly to the views I employ a base plate 10 having an integral flange 11 at one end thereof, and adapted for attachment to a tie 12 with pointed lugs 13 on the base plate for engagement with the tie, suit-able holes being also provided in the base plate for receiving spikes 14 to be driven into the tie as disclosed in Figs. 1 and 2. Removably secured to the base plate 10 at one end thereof is a rail plate 15 consisting of an upwardly and inwardly curved member having its end engaging a rail 16 and its base abutting against the flange 11 of the base plate 10. On the other end of the base plate 10, a wheel guard 17 is integrally formed and extends upwardly and inwardly toward the rail plate 15 with the end 18 of the said wheel guard beveled at its corners and spaced from the rail 16.

In use my device is mounted on a tie as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. When the wheels of a train move over a track, and approach a switch 18, the wheel guard 17 is engaged by the flange of the wheel on the same side of the track as the guard, and the flange of the opposite wheel is consequently drawn away from contact with a switch point 19 of the switch 18, thus permitting the said opposite wheel to easily move over the switch point without the flange striking the same and causing the wheel to climb the switch. By rounding the ends 18 of the wheel guard the shock of the wheel flange engaging the guard is greatly reduced. The positioning of the rail plate 15 opposite the switch point 19 or the wheel guard 17 constitutes a means for substantially withstanding the shock of a wheel engaging the switch and tends to increase the life of a switch by reducing the wear and tear thereon.

To apply my device, the switch point on that side of the track to which my wheel guard is to be applied, is conveniently shortened as shown in Fig. 1 and in this manner the wheel guard is disposed directly opposite to the switch point to be protected.

It will be readily seen that my wheel guard can be employed alone or in connection with the described tie plate and it will be also seen that the tie plate can be conveniently used alone.

It will be understood that my device is applicable to protect switch points from wheel flanges of trains going in either direction and that the scope of the invention is defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a device of the class described a base plate for engagement with a tie adapted to be engaged by a rail, lugs on the base plate and engaging the tie, and a wheel guard integrally formed on the base plate and extending upwardly to within a distance of the with a tie and to support a rail, lugs on the base plate and engaging the said tie, a rail plate for attachment to the base plate at the flanged portion thereof and extending upwardly to engage the web of the said rail, together with an upwardly extending wheel guard integral with the said base plate, the said guard being of substantially the same height as the rail, the edge of the wheel guard adjacent the said rail being of sub- 10 stantially rounded conformation.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE HENRY LANGTON. l/Vitnesses:

JAMES D. STENsoN,

DILLARD P. EUBANK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

